By 2050, worldwide Alzheimer’s cases may quadruple

From a recent AP news article: “More than 26 million people worldwide have Alzheimer’s disease, and a new forecast says the number will quadruple by 2050. At that rate, one in 85 people will have the brain-destroying disease in 40 years, researchers from Johns Hopkins University conclude.”

It’s had to imagine the costs on society that this will have – 100 million people in the world with Alzheimer’s! It could be devastating both emotionally and financially.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has an estimated yearly associated cost in the United States of $100 million (US). This cost results from direct care, lost wages of care takers, and so forth. AD is turning into quite an epidemic; hopefully researchers can find a cure for this debilitating disease. One book that I’ve enjoyed tremendously about AD is Learning to Speak Alzheimer’s by Joanne Coste (available from Amazon for around $10 US). It is easy to read and written with great compassion by someone who truly does understand Alzheimer’s disease.